Chapter 1
The clouds drifted above me in the bright blue sky, the sun shone brightly. I lay on the ground watching the clouds, my grey clothes loose on my thin body. Suddenly a head appeared above me, grinning. A boy with ragged shoulder length black hair, grey skin, and thin golden eyes grinned at me. This was my twin brother Devit.
"There you are." He laughed, sitting beside my head. I sat up and looked at my brother. "Why'd you come here without me?" Devit asked, crossing his arms.
"Sorry Devi." I giggled softly. Devit tilted his head, then smiled and pat my blond head.
"Are you nervous Jasdero?" He asked. "About today?" I looked at the ground timidly and nodded. Today was the day of the Aptitude test... The day where we will be told which faction we belong in. Abnegation, the selfless. Amity, the peaceful. Candor, the honest. Erudite, the intelligent. And Dauntless, the brave. At the moment Devit and I lived in Abnegation. We stood out like needles in a haystack. We were not selfless. We were reckless and never followed the rules. Because of this, we didn't have any friends besides each other. But we didn't need anyone else. "You remember what we're gonna do right Dero?" Devit asked, breaking me out of my thoughts. I nodded.
"We're gonna go to Dauntless." I grinned. We had always wanted to join the Dauntless. They were insane! And we loved it. Devit took my hand in both of his and squeezed slightly.
"That's right Dero. We're gonna go to Dauntless and escape this place." He said confidently.
"And we won't be alone any more?" I asked hopefully. Devit nodded happily.
"Now come on, let's go home and eat something before we have to go." Devit said. We stood up together and walked back home. The house was empty as usual. Devi and I didn't have parents... we were the only orphans in Abnegation. We never knew what happened to our parents. One day, they just left... and never came back... Devit and I had to raise ourselves since the age of 5.
Devit walked over to the cupboard and pulled out the only food we had left, placing it on the table. A loaf of bread and some butter. The others of Abnegation did drop food off to us because they were selfless and pitied us, but, we never really got much, still... it was something.
Devitto split the bread in half. "Hey, Dero, want butter on yours?" He asked.
"Sure." I nodded, sitting at the table, taking a comb and brushing out my elbow length blonde hair. Sure I was a guy, but my hair is just so majestic I just can't bare to cut it off, though Devitto has tried to make me cut it off… But I wouldn't let him so he just had to deal with it after a while. Devit cut the bread into slices, buttering mine. I took my slices and began eating. We ate in silence as always, there was really no reason to speak. We didn't have much to talk about anyways. Not like we had jobs or anything. We had learned to live with the minimum food and cloths that were practically rags. I had tried to learn to sew to fix our clothes, but I never got the hang of it and the needles kept pricking my fingers making them bleed. As an addition of me trying to learn how to sew (which ended in failure) Devit had tried to learn how to cook. Nothing he had made was anywhere close to edible, we had given one of the things he tried to cook to a neighborhood cat… Well… That didn't turn out too well, even the cat didn't want it... So we lived off the selflessness of the Abnegation. But soon we'd be leaving and life would get better... I hoped at least.
As I put slices of bread into my jaws, I tasted the stale flavor made not completely tasteless by the butter. But, I was used to this kind of food anyways. "What do you think real food will taste like?" I asked Devit thoughtfully, imagining all the things Dauntless probably got to eat.
"Probably a lot better than this, it's probably amazing…" He said almost dreamily. I giggled softly, finishing up my bread. Devit finished a moment later. "Let's get ready. We have to leave in a few minutes." He said. I nodded with a yawn, stretching and standing up, I felt my back ache slightly from the rock hard mattress that I had to sleep on... At least I had Devit to keep me warm. I couldn't remember the last time we had blankets. Devit unlocked the mirror that we used more than was generally allowed and made me stand in front of it. I guess this was normal for today to actually be able to look in the mirror this long. He began to brush my hair, allowing me the longest look at myself then I had ever seen. I saw my large golden eyes. Devit had commented before that they looked like doll eyes. I felt the ravenette tie my long hair into a ponytail, brushing my bangs behind my ears. Then he allowed me to stand up, and I made him sit down as I brushed his own hair though it was shoulder length and shorter than my own, it still was just as knotted. Soon enough, his hair was soft and smooth. He stood, closing the mirror again. "Let's go." He said, smiling at me. I nodded and we both walked out of the house that would be empty after tomorrow. We walked towards the bus stop and waited, the dull pavement matching the rest of the town, dull, decollate. Soon enough, the bus came rumbling to the bus stop and parked, opening it's creaky doors. We walked into the main city, mixing in with the crowd of other people. I looked around, seeing the people dressed in blue, orange, black and white. It was more color than I'd ever seen anyone wear before. Devit lead me through the isles, he didn't even seem to care or pay any attention to any of the new colors, instead he looked at an abnegation boy who stood and allowed me to take a seat, I can always rely on abnegation to let me sit. Especially since I looked so pitiful. Devit sat beside me, taking my hand in his.
"What do you think the test is?" I asked quietly.
"I'm not sure, I just hope it doesn't have to do with needles," Devit said with a shiver and a grimace. I nodded. We may not be identical twins but we think alike. We both really hate needles. "I think they were talking about it in school though… Eh, how the hell would I know, I don't pay attention." He said with a shrug.
"I hope it's nothing too bad... I don't wanna be factionless..." I murmured, trembling slightly. Being factionless was one of my greatest fears.
"Don't worry, if you become factionless, I'll become factionless too, you won't be alone." Devit said. I smiled at Devit, leaning my head on his shoulder.
"Thanks Devi." I murmured.
"No problem," Devit said with a smile. If I ever became factionless, at least I'd have Devi… We watched people get called into the test rooms one by one. And soon enough...
"Jasdero!" My name was called. It seemed no one remembered our surnames... all the same. It didn't matter. I reluctantly let go of my brother's hand and stood.
"Don't worry, you'll be fine." Devit whispered. I nodded, swallowing down my fear and making my way to the test room that one of the people had told me to go. There was a tall woman with long black hair tied into a ponytail. Her black clothing told me she was Dauntless. She sat me down in a weird looking chair. Then she gave me a glass with some strange blue liquid inside of it.
"What's this?" I asked curiously. "Why is it blue? Do I have to drink this?"
"Yes, drink it and relax. The test will start in a moment." She said. "My name is Tori by the way." I nodded nervously and drunk down the foul liquid. The bitter taste clinging to my tongue making me grimace. I shuddered slightly, handing the glass back to the woman. She took it and brought out a needle with a long sharp point… dammit…..I thought as I stared wide eyed at the silver syringe. "Don't be frightened, you won't feel a thing." The woman assured me. ya right… I thought as I felt the needle get plunged into my arm with a sharp pinch before everything went black.
I found myself standing in front of a table. On the table were several items. A knife, a book, and a piece of cheese.
"Take something from the table." A voice said.
"What if I don't want to." I said defiantly, crossing my arms stubbornly, Devit probably would have done that or took the knife.
"Choose an item!" The voice said forcefully. I sighed softly and looked at the items again. A knife... cheese... and a book. I liked knives. They were sharp. I like sharp. But… I also didn't like the way this woman was speaking to me. I crossed my arms, pouting and turned away from the table.
"No." I said stubbornly. Then thinking for a moment "only if you say please." It's what I said when Devit tried to make me do something I didn't want to.
"Fine… Please can you take something from the table?" The voice said.
"Only cause you said please." I said with a smirk before taking the knife. Suddenly a dog appeared if front of me… It growled maliciously at me. I didn't want to kill the cute doggy… It was too fluffy. I liked dogs a lot and I always ended up crying if I found out one died. So I dropped the knife... I remembered something I read in a book. Don't look it in the eye and it'll know I'm not a threat. I kneeled down to make myself smaller, avoiding it's gaze, soon enough, the dogs growling seemed to stop. It walked up to me and licked my cheek. I giggled softly, petting the dog. The dog licked my fingers and whined happily with a wagging tail. I stood, smiling at the dog. Then a little girl appeared and giggled running at the dog, which obviously found this as a threat, it growled and charged at the girl with gaping jaws. Before I knew what was happening, I found myself running to stand in front of the girl, gripping the knife. I prepared my blade to impale the poor dogs chest. I braced myself and sliced the dog with the knife, blood staining my hands. I felt tears sliding down my cheeks, I didn't like hurting the dog. I really didn't. I dropped the knife, hardly believing I just did that. Perhaps I wasn't as weak as I thought. But it still pained me to end that dogs life… I had liked the dog and it had been my friend. Until the stupid girl that is... I clenched my bloody fists, trembling slightly. I looked at the limp dog, tears streaming down my face. My golden eyes turned to the little girl, my hands trembling. "You stupid girl… The dog was fine until you showed up! It could've killed you and that poor dog didn't deserve to die!" He snapped angrily.
"Thank you mister," was all the girl said with a bright smile. Skiping away like a happy pansy. Anger filled me to the brim and I lost control. I threw the knife as hard as I could towards the girl. It flew through the air until it impaled the girl in the spine. Blood gushed from her back as she crumpled to the ground. I panted, glaring at the stupid girl. Then realizing what I had done, I felt myself start to cry, guilt welling up inside of me. I looked at my hands. They were covered in crimson blood. I tried to rub away the blood. It stained my grey clothes. Suddenly, my surroundings changed. I find myself on a bus and all the seats are taken. I stand in the aisle and hold on to a pole. Sitting near me is a man with a newspaper. I can't see his face over the top of the paper, but I can see his hands. They are scared, like he was burned, and they clench around the paper like he wants to rip it.
"Do you know this guy?" He asks. He taps the picture on the front page of the newspaper. The headline reads: 'Brutal Murderer Finally Apprehended!' I stare at the word 'murderer'. Even though I've never seen the word before, I know what it means. And it fills me with dread. In the picture, beneath the headline is a young man with a plain face. For some reason, I feel like I've seen him before. But at the same time, I feel like it would be a very bad idea to tell him that. "Well?" I hear anger in his voice. "Do you?" A bad idea. A very very bad idea. My heart races as I clutch the pole stop my trembling hands. If I tell him I know the man, something bad will happen to me. But... if I can convince him I don't... I can do this. I can do this. I clear my throat. "Do you?" He repeats. I shrug my shoulders, looking away. "Well?" I shudder. Being scared is stupid. This is just a test. A simulation. It's not real.
"Nope," I say, keeping my voice casual. "I don't know him." The man stands, and finally I see his face. He wears dark glasses and his mouth is bent into a snarl. His cheek is rippled with scars, like his hands. He leans close to my fave. His breath smells like cigarettes. This isn't real. If it was real Devit would be here with me. This isn't real. It's just a simulation. I reminded myself.
"You're lying!" He says.
"I'm not."
"I can see it in your eyes. "
"You can't." I say, straightening myself.
"If you know him," he says in a low tone. "You could save me. You could save me!" I narrow my large eyes.
"Well," I say. "I don't."
...
When I wake up, I'm panting. I looked over at the dauntless woman named Tori, expecting her to say something. That it was over, or maybe that I did good. Though... how could I do badly on a test like this?
"Well? What did I get?" I asked her.
"You... you got Dauntless." Tori said slowly. I grinned, happy that I had gotten that result, until... "And Erudite, and Amitee."
"What does that mean? I got three? Does that mean I have a choice?" I asked in curiosity.
"Well... yes. But it also means your test was inconclusive." She said standing. Tori helped me stand. "You can't tell anyone about this. As far as they're concerned you got Dauntless. I'm going to send you home. You're going to tell your family that you were sick and went home early. Do you understand?" I nodded though I wanted to go back to Devit first.
"I don't have family besides my twin... I need to wait for him..." I muttered my first thoughts being I need to tell Devit.
"Then wait for him outside. But remember, as far as anyone is concerned you got Dauntless." Tori said, leading me to the back door. I nodded, walking outside. What was so bad about Divergent? I mean isn't having multiple qualities a good thing? But... Tori seemed so frightened... and I wasn't supposed to tell anyone. I shook my head to clear it. I was going to tell Devit no matter what she said. Devit was my twin. He had been by my side my whole life... and he would never let anything bad happen to me. So I'll wait too we get home just in case. Then we can talk about our aptitude tests in peace without having to worry about anyone eavesdropping.
...
Devit and I sat at the table eating some food we had been given. But I had no appetite... still thinking about my aptitude test.
"So, Dero, what were your results?" Devit asked suddenly. We weren't allowed to talk about our results but... who gives a shit about what the authorities think? I know we don't!
"Dauntless," I said. "And... Erudite and Amite..." I muttered.
"What?" Devit asked in confusion.
"I'm... I'm a Divergent Devi..." I muttered, feeling large tears well up in my eyes.
"What does that mean?" Devit asked.
"I-I'm not entirely sure..." I admitted. "But it's something bad..."
"Well, just don't tell anyone else. Alright? We're both heading to Dauntless and if anyone asks. We are both got Dauntless." Devit said. I nodded. My brother stood and walked over to me, wrapping his arms around me and pulling me into a hug. I felt tears slide down my cheeks. "Don't worry... I'll protect you the best I can. I promise. Besides, nobody is gonna find out, it's not that obvious." I nodded, pressing myself against him. "Let's get some rest before tomorrow. Okay?" He asked gently, wiping away my tears.
"O-okay Devi," I said with a sniffle.
"Tomorrow... We're Dauntless," he said with a grin. I felt myself smile a bit.
"Yeah." I said happily. "We're gonna be Dauntless." Devit grinned and the two of us walked upstairs to the room we shared. I took off my shoes and crawled into bed, Devitto doing the same. His arms wrapped around me, acting as a blanket of some sort. I nuzzled against him, relaxing. Everything would be fine... we'd become Dauntless and have many crazy friends... This was going to be awesome...
...
I held tightly onto Devit's hand as we walked with the other Abnegation people. My body trembled visibly, catching many people's attention. A girl walked up to us and looked at me.
"You alright?" She asked. I recognized her from school. Her name is... Beatris I think...
"Y-Yeah..." I stammered, tightening my grip on Devit's hand.
"You sure? You're shaking." She commented.
"He's fine. Just leave us alone." Devit said firmly.
"Alright... if you say so," she sighed. Devit and I sped up slightly, moving deeper into the building where the choosing would be. We sat down in the back row. We liked the back row because it was close to the exit and if we needed to, we'd be able to escape. I looked around the many seats. They are arranged in five sections, according to faction. Not everyone in each faction comes to the Choosing Ceremony, but enough of them come that the crowd looks huge. The responsibility to conduct the ceremony rotates from faction to faction each year, and this year is Abnegation's. Marcus will give the opening address and read the names in reverse alphabetical order. I will choose before Devit. In the last circle are five metal bowls so large they could hold my entire body, if I curled up. Each one contains a substance that represents each faction: gray stones for Abnegation, water for Erudite, earth for Amity, lit coals for Dauntless, and glass for candor. When Marcus calls our names, either me or Devit will walk to the stage. We will not speak and we'll take the knife offered to us and cut our hands, sprinkling our blood into the bowl of the faction we choose. And we were both going for Dauntless… The Abnegation will probably be glad we will be leaving. After all, the only thing we did was cause trouble and break the rules.
Soon enough the whole room fell silent and the ceremony began. I, at once, spaced out. Not caring one bit about what Marcus had to say. I could tell Devit did the same by the way he yawned and leaned back in the chair, hands behind his head.
After what seem like eternity. I got called up. I stood up shakily, walking silently towards the stage. I felt all stares on me, this included my twin's gaze. Walking over to the knife. I picked it up, and closed my eyes before making a clean slit on my palm feeling a sharp pain over my hand, feeling like a large stinging paper cut. I hissed softly in pain and placed the knife back down. I walked up to the hot coals of Dauntless and placed my hand over them. My blood dripped onto the coals, hissing and bubbling from the heat.
"Dauntless!" Marcus announced. Then I walked to where I was supposed to stand. The Dauntless cheered, patting me on the back as I sat down with them. Then Devit's name was called. He walked confidently towards the knife and was quick as he slit his palm and walked up to Dauntless, squeezing blood into the hot coals. I watched it dribble onto the heated coals, the sound of it's sizzle coming to my ears. Marcus announced Dauntless as Devit moved to sit beside me. We grinned at each other. We did it! We were going to be Dauntless! Finally! Other Dauntless began to pat Devit on the back as well.
After a while, the ceremony ended and we followed the other Dauntless out. They began running suddenly. So me and Devit did the same, we all ran down the stairs, the Dauntless around us whooping and sliding down the railings. They ran to the train tracks as the train was coming up.
"They're jumping on." Devit grinned. I giggled, grinning widely. This was gonna be fun. Suddenly all the Dauntless started running beside the train and hopping on, we then realized we had to jump onto the moving train. Devit and I began to run as fast as we could beside the train as the Dauntless and other transfers jumped on. My twin hopped on first, pulling me onto the train a second after. We both scooched back against the wall so we wouldn't fall off. I slid to the floor, panting, my heart racing in my chest. Devit sat beside me, panting.
"That was... awesome." I panted, grinning. Devit nodded in agreement.
"I wonder what... initiation will be like." He breathed. I shrugged, there were a lot of rumors about their initiation, none of them were… Per say, good...
"Get ready!" A Dauntless called, opening the door. I stared wide eyed at where the Dauntless began to open the doors and jump across a wide gap onto a rooftop, I watched how they all landed perfectly except for a single nooby who failed to make it and fell to his death, a crack signaled the sound of his broken bones. I gulped, fear pushing through my body. We stood, Devit taking my hand and squeezing it gently.
"We got this Dero. We can do this." He grinned. I took a breath and nodded. We walked to the door. "On three. 1. 2. 3!" Devit and I leaped, tumbling across the roof of the building. I felt rocks hard against my thin back. My heart was racing in my chest as I looked at the sky. I can't believe I just did that! I thought excitedly. I felt Devit pull me to my feet with a grin, his hair disheveled. "Woah. That was a rush." He laughed.
"That was fun!" I giggled hysterically as we followed the other initiates. He nodded in agreement. Everyone stopped in front of a tall looking Dauntless man.
"Welcome initiates. I'm Eric. Your instructor." He said. For once, me and Devit actually listened intently. "All you have to do here, is jump." Eric said, gesturing to the edge of the building. Jump? From the building? What?! Everyone was silent. "So. Who'll jump first?" Silence. But then...
"Me." The Abnegation girl I knew as Beatris piped up from the crowd. We looked over at her, and she stood up, some men whooping when she ripped off her sweater. She climbed onto the edge of the building shakily and looked down. She took a deep breath and jumped off of the building. There was no sickening crack of death… So me and Devit looked at each other.
"Who's next?" Eric asked, looking back at all of us. Devit stepped forward, but I beat him to it.
"I will!" I said, letting go of Devit's hand as everyone looked at me.
"Two stiffs in a row." Eric smirked. 'Stiff' was slang for Abnegation and I had never been called that until now. Well, whatever, who cares anyways? I shrugged and stood on the ledge, looking down at the hole eagerly, she obviously hadn't died so that meant I wouldn't either. It was safe. I jumped without hesitation. The air rushed past me, blowing my hair behind me. I laughed in delight as I fell. I suddenly hit something large and net like, I felt rope press against my skin, my body seeming to bounce back up as if I was on a trampoline. I panted, letting out breathy laughs. Someone pressed down on one side of the net, allowing me to slide off of the net. I stumbled forwards a couple steps.
"Never seen a stiff brave enough to jump. Much less to of them." Another Dauntless male said, looking at me. I then saw the net bounce again, a new person landing in it.
"That was awesome!" Devit's voice whooped. He hopped out of the net, walking up to me. We grinned identically. "I think I'm gonna like being Dauntless." Devit grinned.
"Yeah!" I said eagerly.
"Another Stiff?" The man said blinking a few times. "This has got to be some new record or something." He muttered.
"Yeah, so what if we're stiffs?" Devit challenged.
"I was just saying that usually Stiff's are more timid." The person replied crossing his arms, he easily towered both me and Devit, and he looked like he could easily break us like twigs just by the size of his arms.
"Well we ain't like other stiffs." Devit said, crossing his arms. "Right Jasdero?"
"Right!" I echoed my twin.
"We'll see about that," the man sighed before exiting the area. Devit scoffed, looking after the man.
...
After a while, all the initiates were down and we were separated into two groups. Dauntless born and transfers. The man who Devit talked back to at the hole walked up to the transfer initiates.
"My name is Four." He said. "I will be the one to train you," he added.
"What kind of name is Four?" Devit asked me, his voice a soft barely audible whisper. I giggled softly, shrugging. We all followed the man named Four to a large area filled with Dauntless.
"This is the pit. The center of life here at Dauntless." Four said before leading us to a large room full of beds. "And this, is where you'll be sleeping."
"Boys or girls?" A boy asked.
"Both." Four said at once. Me and Devit looked at each other, we had never dressed in front of others or shared a room with others besides ourselves. "You candors should like this, everything out in the open. Now, get changed into your uniform and come down to dinner." And with that, Four left the room. Everyone started choosing beds. Me and Devit managed to get two beds in the corner of the room right beside each other. Folded on the pillow, were black leather clothes. I picked them up, looking at them curiously, so unused to wearing anything that wasn't grey. Instead it was black. Sweet. There was a black T-shirt that was much more well fitting then my rags and tatters. Black jeans and black leather boots. I pulled off my grey clothes and began changing into the black Dauntless clothing. Devit doing the same, his clothing looked just like mine,
These clothes were very comfortable, they fit perfectly as if they were made just for me, and the cloth was soft. We followed the other initiates, holding our old clothes. Everyone was throwing their old clothing into an incinerator. Yay… Fire… Fire good. I picked up my clothes and jogged towards the furnace dropping it into the pit of fire.
I could hear Devit running behind me in close pursuit. He threw his clothes in the fire as well, speeding up to catch up to me. We held hands as we walked, giving the two of us mental support as we walked into a large dining area. My mouth began to water at the sights and scents of food that was like nothing we had ever eaten… This smelled and looked like the food fit for a king… We sat with the other initiates, who were taking food. We began to do the same, piling food onto our plates hungrily, having nothing to eat for breakfast, we were starving. We practically inhaled our food, not having this much to eat in years. Not to mention this food tasted so succulent and so flavorful, it was like nothing we've ever had. We were full in a matter of minutes, our plates completely clean. We looked up to see most of the initiates staring at us, blinking a few times.
"What?" I asked, almost indignantly.
"Never seen anyone eat that fast with as much food as that…" One spoke up.
"You'd do that too if you've been starved practically your whole life..." I muttered to myself.
"Wait, weren't you both from Abnegation?" Another asked.
"Yeah. So?" Devit asked, crossing his arms.
"Well that explains a lot." The one said in understanding.
"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Devit and I asked in unison.
"Well, normally, when Abnegation come here they act like they've never seen food in their lives." The person explained. "I came here about a year ago with a few Abnegation."
"Well we're a different case." Devit stuck his tongue out at the person. The person only shrugged and continued to eat. "I have a feeling we're gonna have to say that to a lot of people." Devit muttered. I nodded in agreement with a sigh, then taking more food to my plate. I was happy though... we were going to be Dauntless! We were really going to be Dauntless! We just had to pass initiation. Devit and I could do it. I know we can.